Wangs 1987HW (handwired 50w Plexi)

[Guitarjon]

UPDATE:
I wanted to see how far I could push this amp and how versatile it is:



I got a new amp to play with! Yay! Wangs was kind enough to send me their 1987HW amp for some videos, which is basically a handwired 50w 4-hole non master volume "Marshall" Plexi. As with all the other "HW" Wangs amps it's handwired and made with great care in the Wangs shop in China. This is a good example of a high-quality product from China. Not mass produced but made with a lot of love by human hands. I've only had good experiences with my Wangs amps (currently HD-15, 2204HW and 1987HW).

I'm primarily a heavy rock and metal player but I've grown to like more vintage style amps. I have the Marshall studio series amps for example. The SV20H or mini Plexi comes close to the 1987HW in terms of the core tone although the Wangs has a warmer and 'bigger' sound. The plexi-style amps have been interesting to me, especially since those types of amps are relatively new to me. So it's always fun and interesting to dial in tones and to see how everything interacts.

With the SV20H I've noticed that it can get a little bright and tinny with certain settings but with the 1987HW for some reason it's much easier to get beefy tones. The 4-hole/jumpering possibilities really help with getting the perfect blend between fatness and brightness but funnily enough I got some really cool tones by just using single outputs. That doesn't match my experience with the SV20H. I guess I'll have to make a comparison at some point. Don't get me wrong, I like my SV20H, it's a cool amp! But I can't deny that there is a pretty substantial difference.

Anyway, here's a little demo/review video with some tones:

 

[mAx___]

Great demo! Your original material sounds excellent in every style and it's great to listen to!

 

[Guitarjon]

Great demo! Your original material sounds excellent in every style and it's great to listen to!

Thank you! I appreciate it!

 

[Guitarjon]

I was just playing through my SV20H again and while it's a cool sound it's still pretty different. As I said I will compare them soon. The SV20H has a more narrow sound frequency wise. The low palm mutes just get kind of squashed pretty fast. Don't know if that's the case with the big Plexi's from Marshall as I've never played one. The 1987HW just retains more thump when it's cranked... Both are cool though and it will be interesting to hear them side by side...

 

[Ufoscorpion]

I’m definitely going to pick a 1987 hw very soon to go with my 2204hw . Unbeatable tone and quality per ££££ amps around , no contest . Great demo btw Jon .

 

[Guitarjon]

I’m definitely going to pick a 1987 hw very soon to go with my 2204hw . Unbeatable tone and quality per ££££ amps around , no contest . Great demo btw Jon .

Thanks! Keep in mind that it's a very loud amp! Sounds killer though...

 

[Ufoscorpion]

Thanks! Keep in mind that it's a very loud amp! Sounds killer though...

The 2204 hw is pretty damn loud , are you saying the 1987 hw is louder ? Not that I’m bothered , will go through my torpedo reload anyway .

 

[Guitarjon]

The 2204 hw is pretty damn loud , are you saying the 1987 hw is louder ? Not that I’m bothered , will go through my torpedo reload anyway .

The 1987HW has no master volume so it will go louder faster. For nice gain you're going to have to push it hard. Not a problem for me since I also use a reactive load

 

[Ufoscorpion]

As good as the 2204 hw is and almost certainly the 1987 hw is as well . Nothing touches my Friedman runt 50 for my ‘thing’ ( 70’s / 80’s hard rock and metal ) . No attenuator needed either on the Friedman , it has an amazing master volume . But we are talking £1700 vs £700 .

 

[EJstrat&JVM]

Great demo and great playing. But well, if you use a reactive load, I am sure that even an Origin 50 will get you to those nice vintage tones.

 

[Guitarjon]

Great demo and great playing. But well, if you use a reactive load, I am sure that even an Origin 50 will get you to those nice vintage tones.

Well, I tried, and unfortunately, no. It didn't sound as good as this at all. A reactive load doesn't change the character of an amp.

 

[Guitarjon]

I wanted to see how far I could push this amp and how versatile it is:

 

[tallcoolone]

Cool demo, terrible brand name lol. Too much low end for my taste—I don’t like ‘thump’ in my Marshalls.

 

[Ufoscorpion]

L

Cool demo, terrible brand name lol. Too much low end for my taste—I don’t like ‘thump’ in my Marshalls.

Well you probably wouldn’t be down tuning or using 7 and 8 string guitars dude , lol . The lower gain standard tuned playing at the beginning definitely doesn’t have ‘ thump ‘ imo .

 

[tallcoolone]

L

Well you probably wouldn’t be down tuning or using 7 and 8 string guitars dude , lol . The lower gain standard tuned playing at the beginning definitely doesn’t have ‘ thump ‘ imo .

It has too much low end for my taste as I said. YMMV

 

[Seven]

Sound is subjective to the player. The Wang sounds closer to a modded JCM800 or the Studio Silver Jubilee or somewhere along those lines. I have the SV20h and it's closer to a Plexi sound in my opinion. A tube/valve change may affect the chime and gain, but rarely do tubes alter the sound of a circuit to a point where it sounds like a different amp.

I like the Wang tones, but I think we are in the apples and oranges category with this topic.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Ufoscorpion]

It has too much low end for my taste as I said. YMMV

I had look at the amp settings for this demo and the bass is dimed actually . I didn’t notice that just listening on my air pods , you must be listening using pretty decent monitors or something . I don’t tend to use the bass beyond 9 o’clock on any amp tbh .

 

[tallcoolone]

I had look at the amp settings for this demo and the bass is dimed actually . I didn’t notice that just listening on my air pods , you must be listening using pretty decent monitors or something . I don’t tend to use the bass beyond 9 o’clock on any amp tbh .

Yeah pretty good ones anyway. I did not however see the bass dimed as you did so maybe that can be dialed out? Tough to say since the eq on a lot of Marshalls don‘t seem to do much at all

 

[tallcoolone]

Funny I got an offer myself last week to trade the EVH for this model Wang.

 

[Springfield Scooter]

Nice!
Could we get some gut shots please?
Looking forward to the SV20 comparison video.